Mornie Alantie
by Lasta-Laithamin
Summary: Legolas and Imandrin, who Legolas has taken under his wing during battle, head off with a small troop of Elves to face the large number of Orcs that have begun to attack the wilderlands. All is well until Imandrin is captured by the very orcs he is to des


Mornie Utulie  
  
Chapter 1 He Fought, And He Did Well  
  
Legolas drew his sword as the Elvish captain raised his hand. The Elvish Prince loosened his reins as the stallion beneath him shuddered with the will to run. "Easy Aruminan, Easy…" the Elf whispered and Aruminan lowered his head a bit, trying to regain his composure. Legolas' eyes glanced to his right, upon a younger Elf mounted upon a bay mare. There was fear displayed in the young one's eyes.  
"Imandrin! Are you alright?" Legolas asked the younger Elf. The raven-haired Elf turned his head as the mare began to back up. "I-I'm fine Legolas." Imandrin said nervously, urging his horse to step forward, so they would be positioned in the front line once more. "This is your first battle isn't it?" Legolas asked.  
"Y-y-yes it is." The Elf said. He was trembling slightly and Legolas smiled sympathetically. "Then let's hope it won't be your last." Legolas said sincerely as he nodded to Imandrin. The younger Elf returned the gesture as the Elvish captain turned his chestnut stallion around to face the valley ahead of them. The fog lay so heavily upon the valley that the only indication that there was a battle raging unseen in the mist, were the cries of Elves, screams of orcs, and the mournful, pained calls of dying horses. The Elvish captain brought his arm down as he spurred his stallion forward. With a cry of encouragement to Aruminan, Legolas urged the whitish gray stallion forward, the rest of the front line following him. Imandrin's hold on the reins was shaky, and as he galloped after Legolas and Aruminan, the Elf fumbled with the reins, in the process dropping his sword from his sweaty grasp. "No!" Imandrin cried as he turned to watch the horse behind him gallop over the sword. The mare shied at the panic in his voice, bolting forward and almost passing Aruminan. Legolas turned to look at Imandrin, the stern expression on his face turning into alarm when he realized the young Elf had no sword.  
Legolas sharply maneuvered Aruminan so that he was side by side with the younger Elf. "You dropped your sword?!" he shouted over the pounding of horse hooves. The younger Elf nodded fearfully as he looked at Legolas. "W-what am I going to do?" he asked weakly. Legolas looked forward as the horses plunged down the hill and through the fog, whilst their vision became limited to a mere five feet in front of them. Legolas grabbed his sword tenderly by the blade and thrust the hilt into Imandrin's hand. "Don't drop it!" he said as he grabbed from his quiver two match blades. He dug his heels into Aruminan's side and all was thrown into complete chaos as the Elvish army thrust themselves into the foggy battlefield.

  
  
**_One, two, one, three. Remember that Imandrin!_** The young Elf thought as he slashed about in every direction with Legolas' sword held clenched in his fist. **_Right, left, right, thrust!_** Imandrin thought as he decided to forget about the numbers and focus on the actions themselves. An approaching Orc roared and took a stab at him as Imandrin leapt back, then advanced with the combination. Wow, the combination that Legolas taught me worked! the Elf thought as he advanced on another Orc. "Imandrin! Watchout!" Legolas shouted from a distance. Imandrin looked up, then followed Legolas' gaze. He wheeled around and thrust Legolas' sword through the throat of an advancing orc. He nodded a thanks to Legolas before performing Legolas' combination on another Orc. He found himself thinking he had Legolas' luck. On the way down the hill an arrow had pierced Aruminan's shoulder, and sent both Legolas and the stallion to the ground. Most of the Elvsih army had avoided the pair, but the fog was so thick that as horse and rider tumbled down the steep hill, quite a large number of the horses had blindly trod upon, or tripped over, the Elf and his mount. Yet, Legolas was on his feet in a matter of seconds, and had ripped the arrow out of the horse's shoulder. The wound hadn't been too deep, and Aruminan was soon carrying Legolas into battle again. Imandrin had lost his mare, Ruinhuin, to an Orc's arrow moments after they'd reached the battlefield. Imandrin slung his sword around, deciding to attempt one of Legolas' more complicated moves that the Elf prince had shown him. **_What was it again?_** the young Elf thought, **_Parry, Parry, left, right, thrust, parry, thrust, parry, left , right, thrust, parry, turn, back up, wait, thrust? Yes, that was it!_** Imandrin leapt forward at an advancing Orc, bringing his sword up to parry the Orc's weapon, then changing sides and parrying again. Imandrin slung his sword to the left, then the right, before thrusting it forward. As he'd expected, the Orc leapt back, in a dodge to the thrust, and then advanced again. Imandrin quickly parryied again, then thrust the sword once more, parryied as the Orc advanced again, then slashed to the left. He then slashed to the right, thrusted once more, parryied a last time, turned to the side and slashed, then leapt back. He waited a few seconds as the Orc brought his sword back, preparing to thrust it at the Elf. Imandrin leapt forward to thrust his blade into the Orc's chest and be done with him. As he did so however, his feet became entangled with each other and made him falter. He looked up in time to see the Orc bring his sword up one last time, preparing to skewer the young Elf. Imandrin winced, and braced himself for the feel of the steel blade penetrating his body. The feeling never came however, and as he looked up again, he saw Legolas forcing the Orc back, then performing the move Imandrin had been attempting without flaw. The Orc fell and Legolas rushed to the young Elf's aid. "Are you alright Imandrin?" Legolas asked worriedly as he helped the younger Elf to his feet.  
"I am now. Hannan lle amin mellon." Imandrin said with a nod to Legolas. "Are you wounded? Can you move alright?" The older Elf prompted. "I'm fine Legolas, really." Imandrin said as he looked into the worried eyes of his elder. His brown eyes now left Legolas' gaze and glanced around the field. He saw littered upon the battlefield, hundreds of bodies. He glimpsed the fly-attracting corpses, and realized he saw only one or two Elves among the lot, all of which were of Rivendell. "Prince Legolas! Imandrin! We move on!" The Elvish captain shouted as he looked to them, his chestnut battle stallion side-stepping anxiously. Legolas nodded and looked to Imandrin. "I am sorry about Ruinhuin, but for now you may ride Aruminan with me." Imandrin nodded as Legolas led him to where Aruminan stood quietly, waiting to move on. Imandrin watched as Mirkwood's prince leapt easily upon the bareback of his stallion and held a hand out to help the younger Elf onto the horse's back. "I cannot ride bareback…" Imandrin said quietly as he lowered his gaze from the older Elf's eager ones. "Of course you can. And if you can't, well, you will because we need to move on as quickly as possible, and you being on foot will not help the process. Not to mention I doubt any other Elf here will take you on their horse with them." Legolas said as he grabbed Imandrin's wrist and forcefully pulled at him. Imandrin sighed and went along with it, scrambling onto the horse's back with much effort. Legolas gave him another tug and he was completely on the horse.  
"Hold on…" Legolas cautioned as he went to urge the stallion into a gallop. "To what?!" Imandrin cried as the stallion burst into a smooth, but swift gallop. His first reaction was to cling to Legolas' for dear life. The Elf prince looked over his shoulder sternly as he felt the young one's fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt. Imandrin slowly relaxed his grip and allowed himself to slip backwards on the horse's back, so that he had his hands in front of him, his palms on the horse's spine. Steadying himself with his hands, he tried to sit steadily on the horse. "Squeeze with your upper leg muscles. It will give you more security." Legolas said over his shoulder as the stallion sped up, trying to catch up with the rest of the army as they galloped over the battlefield that at one time had been one of the most beautiful valleys in Middle Earth. Imandrin squeezed the horse with his upper legs as Legolas had said, and instantly felt an increase in security and balance. The rest of the ride was made in silence as the army of Elvish warriors made their way through the large valley, as darkness began to engulf the land in shadow. "What is this place Legolas?" Imandrin asked, finally breaking the eerie silence that the setting of the sun had brought upon them. "There are many names for such a place Imandrin. We Elves gave it its original name, Rauko Mornie, or Wolf's Shadow. It used to be one of the most beautiful places in Middle Earth, as long as the sun was at its peak, that is." Legolas replied. "How did it get the name Rauko Mornie?" Imandrin asked. "Once night fell, the place would reek of death as the hundreds of wolves that abode in it came out to hunt. After the Battle of the Five Armies however, my eldest brother, Luidwrath, was out riding just over the ridge that we rode down earlier today. His horse spooked at some unknown object and leapt to the side. He ended up leaping to close to the edge of the ridge, and a piece of the landscape broke apart beneath the stallion's weight. Both the stallion and my brother tumbled down the hill, the horse breaking his back, my brother breaking his leg. Luidwrath wandered about lamely in the valley, trying to find shelter before dark. He soon figured out where he was at, and his search for shelter became more frantic. Soon though, night finally fell, and the sun was lost, along with my brother's life." Legolas said, squeezing Aruminan's sides with his lower legs, signaling for Aruminan to speed up. "How do you know all of the details?" Imandrin asked after a few moments.  
"My father had sent a scout or two out to look for him when he didn't return from his ride at noon like he'd said he would. They had arrived to the ridge early afternoon to see my brother's crippled gelding lying in the valley. They rode carefully down the ridge, putting the poor horse out of his misery when they reached the bottom. They followed a trail of my brother's blood until they found him, only by then it had become sunset. He had fallen into what seemed to be a trap, dug out of the earth in effort to trap a few wolves. A loose netting of leaves had been formed in order to disguise the trap to the wolves. Apparently though, the wolves smelled the stale scent of human, and stayed away from the trap. Luidwrath was unconscious when they found him, having hit his head during the fall. "One of the scouts dismounted his horse and tried to climb down into the pit to carry Luidwrath out. On the way down, he fell, and broke his neck. About this time Luidwrath came to, and the scout found out from Luidwrath's own account what had happened. The scout would have never been able to get Luidwrath out by himself, so he left long enough to get help. When he came back however, and rode to the pit with the four other Elves he'd brought with him to help, they found no less than thirteen wolves in the pit, tearing at the flesh of my brother and the dead scout. The Elves immediately began to fire with their bows upon the wolves, in a useless attempt to save my brother." Legolas said as he began to slow Aruminan to a steady canter as the other horses began to slow as well. "My father was furious and grieved when he learned of his Eldest son's death, and ordered no less than seven hundred Elves sent into the valley to destroy the wolves. In about a week they returned, giving their account of how the wolves were destroyed." Legolas finished, halting Aruminan behind the captain's chestnut stallion.  
"How did they destroy all of the wolves?" Imandrin asked.  
"They destroyed their valley. My father, brothers, and I all watched as as many of the warriors as possible lined up along the ridge encircling the large valley set their torches down to the earth, creating a fire that engulfed the entire valley. They then rode their horses back a few yards, and shot every living thing that went to escape the burning valley. The valley's name was changed to Nuuruhuine, or Death's Shadow, and has been used as a vital battlefield ever since." Legolas said as he leapt off Aruminan's back, helping Imandrin down as well.

"My good warriors! It shall be great news to your ears to hear that we did not lose a single warrior to this day's battle! Every last foe was destroyed, from the biggest Uruk of Isengard down to the last Orc of Mordor! Mirkwood was victorious!" Geldor, the captain of the battalion, announced as they sat around the fire that evening. A cheer raised from the hundred or so Elves that made up of the small group that had been sent from Mirkwood's shade to scout and find out how bad the Orc attacks were. Legolas smiled as he lifted his wine-filled goblet and took a deep drink from it. Relief made his spirits light and his heart joyful as he thought of returning to the safety of his homeland. Imandrin stepped silently out of his tent, having changed out of his dusty green tunic, and was now wearing a light blue one to sleep in, along with a dark colored cloak that was thrown about his shoulders. He looked around until his brown-eyed gaze found the Elf prince, sitting on one of the logs the Elves had placed around the warm fire. Winters were cold in and around Rauko Mornie, and the summers were unbearably hot. Imandrin smiled as he approached the Elf prince and took a seat next to him. "Resting Legolas?" he asked when he noticed the older Elf's eyes were gently closed. "Thinking." Legolas replied as he opened his eyes. "Is there something you need Imandrin?" he asked curiously.  
"I just wanted to thank you for earlier. You saved my life against that Orc…" Imandrin said.  
"Don't worry about thanking me. Worry about returning the favor." Legolas joked with a smile. "Now, your problem with Slither, which is the proper name for the attack combination you were trying to preform, is your speed. It all has to be lightening quick. If you go too slow, the wait and immediate thrust afterward can get you killed. Haven't I told you that already?" Legolas asked.  
"Yeah, I just forgot. I'm sorry." Imandrin replied.  
"Don't be so hard on yourself, it's a complicated move. It's really hard to remember. Just next time, remember your speed. And practice! Eventually, your limbs will get so used to the movements, that you'll just have to concentrate on speed and your enemy." Legolas said as he nodded to the younger Elf. "I'll try and find a place to practice before we move out tomorrow." Imadrin said with a slow nod.  
"Come with me. I could use some practice myself. Not to mention you haven't had a lesson in a while, it wil lbe a good review." Legolas said as he gulped the rest of his wine and set his goblet down, getting to his feet and leading Imandrin into the forest.  
Their silent steps soon brought them to a small clearing, where the beams of dim light from the moon were the only sources of light to be seen. Legolas led Imandrin to the center of the clearing, then turned to face him.  
"Alright, we'll work on Slither before we do anything else." Legolas said as he drew his sword. Imandrin looked at him a moment, then dropped his gaze.  
"You never fetched your sword did you Imandrin?" Legolas asked with a sigh. Imandrin shook his head. Legolas had taken his sword back from Imandrin the moment they had dismounted at the camp site. Legolas sighed again and pulled one of his match blades out of his quiver. He handed the white knife to Imandrin and took a step back. "Watch me carefully. I'll do it slowly at first, then at normal speed. You will then do the same." Legolas said. Imandrin nodded and took a few steps back a well, to give the elder Elf room. Legolas waited a second, then slowly took a step forward. He brought his sword up as if blocking an imaginary one, then brought it up on the opposite side of his imaginary foe. HE then slashed to the left, then the right, before thrusting the blade forward in front of him. He parried the imaginary sword again, then thrust it once more. The broad side of his sword went up again to block, then swung to the left, then the right, and thrust forward again. He parried a last time, turned to the side, then leapt backwards, waited a few seconds, then thrust again as he leapt forward.  
"That, is how you would Slither in slow motion. Now this, is the quicker version." Legolas said as he launched into a swift repitition of the combination he'd just performed. Within seconds he stood still facing Imandrin. "Now you do it." he said as he stepped back to give the young Elf room. "Slowly first my friend, then wait for further instructions." Legolas said as he leant up against the trunk of a tree, his arms folded, sword sheathed. Imandrin nodded, then hastily went into an attempted repeat of the combination Legolas had just perfromed so perfectly. He slowly failed, mixing up a few of the moves, and stumbling on the last thrust as he had done that afternoon.  
"You're tripping over your own feet!" Legolas exclaimed with a hint of frustration. "I've told you at least a dozen times Imandrin! Balance! Preciseness! If you trip and fall when I'm not around, or anyone else, and its just you and the Orc, you will be slaughtered! Now try it again, and mind your feet!" he said as he watched, his eyes glued on the younger Elf's ankles.  
Imandrin nodded in reply to the Elf's teaching and performed the move again, doing much better this time, and avoiding messing up the alst thrust. "Better! Much better! But you're not ready to take it any faster. I'll teach you an easier move that I want you to use in the mean time. This is called Cat Scratch. Don't ask me where it got its name, I just use them, I don't make them up." He said as he saw the younger Elf snigger at the name.  
"Here." Legolas said as he reached into his quiver and took out a thin package ad handed it to Imandrin. The younger Elf opened the package and a mithril tunic fell out into his hands. He looked to Legolas, then back to the tunic, then once more to Legolas, showing he didn't understand.  
"Slip it on. We're going to practice." Legolas said as he slipped one sleeve up enough to show he was wearing one beneath his clothes. Imandrin slipped the tunic on over his own and drew the match blade Legolas had lent him. "Attack me." Legolas said as he drew his sword and readied himself.  
Imandrin slashed at him from the right and Legolas leapt to the left, thrusting his sword tip at the broad side of the blade with enough force so that the sword toppled from Imandrin's hand, turning so that it left a thin scratch that looked like that of a cat on the top of Imandrin's hand. Whilst Imandrin looked to his cut hand in surprise, Legolas thrust his sword at him, the blade hitting him hard enough in the chest to knock him backwards, and if it hadn't been for the mithril, he would've been skewered. "Never allow distractions!" Legolas scolded. "That was Cat Stratch. It's a simple disarming maneuver that gives you the upper hand. With the proper amount of practice and skill, you'll be performing it flawlessly. It can be used quite nicely with another attack I will teach you once you master Cat Scratch." Legolas said as he looked to Imandrin. "Now, do you think you can try it?" he asked.  
"I'll try…" Imandrin said as he readied himself for the false attack Legolas would begin the practice with. "Know that you won't always elave a scratch until you've mastered it completely." Legolas said, giving Imandrin a nod before shouting and slashing at him from the left. Imandrin tried to copy what Legolas had done and thrust his sword point at the broad side of the prince's blade. Legolas' sword toppled from his hand and Imandrin thrust forward with remarkable speed and enough force to cause Legolas to stagger back. With the thrust however, Imandrin's feet became entangled so that he fell into Legolas, knocking them both to the ground.  
"Damn it! Imandrin!" Legolas spat as he pushed the younger Elf off of him. "Why must you constantly trip over your own damn feet!" Legolas rarely cursed at those he voluntarily teached swordplay, but he was getting quite tired of the lack of gracefulness that the young Elf possessed. "I'm sorry!" Imandrin said quickly as he picked himself up off of the ground. He offered a hand to Legolas, his face slightly nervous as the older Elf glowered at him. Legolas' expression softened ad he allowed Imandrin to help him up. "Don't be. I'm a bit tired from today, and I'm taking it out on you. Forgive me amin mellon." Legolas said.  
"It's alright." Imandrin said as he looked to Legolas waiting for further instruction. "Let's try it again. You're not leaving here until you master Cat Scratch! It will really help you out tomorrow if you use it." Legolas said as the two readied themselves to rehearse the methods od swordplay the young Elf was trying to learn."Where have you been?!" Alladne asked, his young face taking on a joyful expression as Legolas approached their fire. He looked tired, and as he sunk onto the log where Alladne was sitting, the prince looked like he'd just come back from a war.  
"Working with Imandrin." Legolas replied wearily. "What where you teaching him this time?" Alladne asked, his own golden hair glinting with the lighto ff of the large fire. "Cat Sctratch and Illuvatar's Fury. He finally mastered Cat Sctratch, and so I insisted he combine it with Illuvatar's Fury. I assumed Furante had tought him that move while I was on that scouting mission to Rivendell last month. I was wrong, and thus had to sepnd the last hour explaining and demonstrating it." Legolas said as he took a goblet of wine Alladne had offered him.  
"It must be tiring teaching those Elflings how to use a sword. Why the hell would you do it?" Alladne asked, his intent green eyes studying Legolas' tired blue ones. "Before I did it, no one did, and we lost the young ones left and right in battle. There were a lot of promising warriors that were lost. Geldor and I decided it would be best if the younger ones were taught at least a few basic moves. No one else would teach them, so I said I would." "That Imandrin seems like a complete failure! You should of seen it! Today as we were charging down the hill, the little one dropped his sword right in the path of my stallion! Irunad almost tripped over the damn thing! Cut his legs up really bad as well!" Alladne said.  
"He's doing better, and I think right now he needs tutoring in swordplay more than the rest." Legolas said. "The rest of the young ones aren't out here. He is. Geldor told me to bring out what I thought the most promising of my "students" and I chose Imandrin. He may be god awful right now, but he's getting much better. He survived his first battle today without so much as a scratch. And, unlike the rest of those I'm teaching, he actually fought. Remilan, Hedni, or even Luminar would have frozen up, or ran even. Imandrin fought, and he did well." Legolas said.  
"Still, do you have any real hope for the boy to return with us to Mirkwood?" Alladne asked. "That's right I said boy! Today is the only real, hands-on experience he's ever seen, and had you not been looking out for him, he would have been killed! He was lucky today, we all were! There were less than a hundred Orcs alive when we got here. Lorien came earlier, killed a bunch, we're clobbered basically, too their dead, and then fled! Rivendell did the same! We were lucky to only get the pickings! Rivendell and Lorien are done with this thing! The next band of Orcs we see will be up to three times that many!" Alladne said. "I know that Alladne, and I worry for Imandrin, I really do. And I intend on keeping a close eye on him until he gets more experience and skill. I'm giving him practices left and right, whenever there is an opportunity. I will protect him as long as I can. I like Imandrin. He has a good heart and a strong will. I think he'll survive this thing, and prove everyone wrong." Legolas said as he took another drink from his goblet, finishing the wine in it. "And now, good night, my friend Alladne, for I wish to retire for the evening." the Elf prince said as he walked over to his large tent, and disappeared inside."Orcs! We're under attack! Orcs!" Alladne shouted as he ran to each tent, shouting inside the flap for the sleeping Elf to wake and come to the battalion's defense. Legolas had awaken with the first cry to come out of Alladne's thin mouth. The Elf prince threw his Mithril tunic over his sleeping garments and grabbed his bow and his sword belt. Fastening his belt even as he exited the tent, Legolas began to help Alladne raise the alarm, even as he shot down three approaching Orcs. Legolas fit another arrow to his bow as a Warg rider rode out of the thicket that surrounded the campsite. The large wolf that served as the Orc's mount looked towards Legolas, sniffing the air hungrily. Legolas glimpsed the Orc's leg as he kicked the wolf in the sdies, causing the beast to launch forward in a powerful lunge. Legolas pulled the bowstring back and let the arrow fly.  
With a yelp, the wolf fell to the ground, taking the Orc with it. Another arrow took the life of the Orc and Legolas turned in time to see a flaming arrow pierce the top of his tent. Fire instantly spread over the tent, it's flames licking at the tents nearest. They caught fire as well, and soon the clearing that had minutes before been a dark, peaceful campsite, was a burning, well lit site of chaos. Shouts and horse's neighs were heard as a few Elves tried a mounted assault. Legolas shouted orders at some of the confused Elves as they staggered out of their tents, sleep still evident in their expressions. Legolas ran to the large hitching post where the horses had been tied. The animals were rearing, and screaming, yanking at their ties, trying desperately to get free. Legolas glanced over to where the mounted assault was being used, and realized the Orcs seemed almost afraid of the horses. An idea sparkling in his mind, he quickly used his sword to cut all of the horses free, save Aruminan. Legolas took one of his arrows and whacked one of the stallion's on the flank with the feathered end of the shaft, thus scaring the horse into running the opposite direction. He repeated the act many times until the horses were running blindly towards the flaming campsite. Legolas leapt on Aruminan's back and swung his sword around in front of Aruminan, cutting him free. The white stallion obediently wheeled around with a touch of Legolas' heels and charged toward the Orcs. Legolas leant over the stallion's neck, and began to slash from left to right as the horse galloped through the forest of Orcs that had descended upon the campsite. Elves leapt out of the way as the white horse and prince thundered through the campsite, not taking any care to avoid those unfortunate enough to stray out into their path.  
Aruminan suddenly dug his heels into the earth with such abruptness that Legolas was slung forward and over the horse's neck. His Elvish reflexes caused his arms to grab around the horse's neck, and so the instant his feet touched the ground he leapt up so that he was on the stallion's back once more. He looked forward to see what had stopped the stallion and gasped softly. At least three hundred Orcs came charging down a wooded hill to the east of them.  
"Pull back! Retreat! Leave everything! Retreat!" Legolas heard Geldor's voice order, and the elf prince immediately used his heels to turn the horse around and ride him away from the oncoming army. As they raced through the campsite again, Legolas saw Elves leap upon their scattered horses, using their heels to control the animals like Legolas did, having no time to grab their bridles.  
Geldor was mounted upon his chestnut stallion already, having been the one to arrange the mounted assault. He led those that had been in the assault away from the campsite, those who were just leaping on their horses to flee soon joining. Legolas held Aruminan back a bit, watching the Elves as they rode past. Alladne was one of the last, and he pulled his palomino stallion up beside Aruminan as he and Legolas stood just outside of the campsite.  
"What are you waiting for my prince?" Alladne shouted over the commotion going on in the campsite.  
"Imandrin! I don't see him!" Legoals shouted in reply as he watched the final three Elves ride past. He heeled Aruminan and steered him towards the campsite.  
"No Legolas!" Alladne shouted as he urged his horse forward as well. The palomino lunged past Aruminan, then leapt in front of the horse, so that Aruminan was forced to stop, or run into the palomino's side. "I think I saw Huor take him on his black horse." Alladne said. "You had better be correct Alladne! That Elfling is my responsibility!" Legolas said after a moment. He turned Aruminan around and the two Elves raced their mounts back to the group.

  
  
"Imandrin!? Imandrin are you here?!" Legolas shouted as he dismounted from Aruminan. The young Elf was nowhere to be found. The Mirkwood battalion looked around wearily, trying to make sure everyone was accounted for. Legolas soon gave up calling for the Elf and began to ask around. He remounted Aruminan and trotted over to where Huor sat on his black stallion, looking out in the direction they'd come from. "Huor! Have you seen Imandrin? Alladne told me he thought he saw you take him with you on Utulie." Legolas said as Aruminan trotted up beside Utulie. Utulie pricked his ears at the white stallion, whickered, then turned his head again.  
"No, I haven't seen him since yesterday evening." the black haired guard said as he turned to look at Legolas. "I'm sorry." "It's alright Huor." the prince said as he galloped Aruminan back to where the other Elves were trying to make a temporary hitching post to give the horses a rest. Legolas dismounted Aruminan and led him to a brown haired Elf named Inthrune.  
"Can you tend to Aruminan for me, Inthrune?" Legolas asked him, his eyes full of weariness. "Yes milord." Inthrune said as he took the roep he was holding and looped it around the stallion's neck, leading him to the temporary hitching post. Legolas nodded a thanks, and went off to find Geldor. As everyone started to settle down, and the horses were taken care of, the sun finally began to rise. Legolas cursed softly under his breath, realizing his time was running out to find Geldor. He passed a small group of sleeping Elves when he looked up to see Geldor and his chestnut stallion. The horse looked winded, and Geldor looked grim. "Is something wrong Geldor?" Legolas asked the general as he dismounted from his chestnut. "I just took a ride to see what lies ahead. 'Tis a barren waste land. There will be no shelter for us if trouble comes. Though we'll see it this time…long before it comes within firing range." Geldor said. "You look troubled Legolas. What is it?" "Imandrin is nowhere to be found. I've asked several, and none have seen him since last night." Legolas said worriedly.  
"Could he have remained in his tent?" Geldor asked.  
"No sir. His tent was burnt to the ground, and I saw Alladne go inside before it caught fire. He told me earlier there was no one there." Legolas said.  
"Are you talking about that raven-haired boy?" a voice asked. Legolas turned to face the voice, and found himself looking into the eyes of Inthrune. "Yes, Imandrin." Legolas quickly.  
"I saw him early this morning before the attack. He ventured into the woods alone. I asked him where he was going, as I was in the forest trying to find one of my arrows I'd fired for practice. He mentioned something about Mithril…" he said. "Yes, I gave him a lesson in swordplay last night… I lent him one of my Mithril tunics to wear over his clothing. When I left him to practice his movement alone, I didn't think to get the Mithril. He must have taken it off and left it by mistake." Legolas said. He paused a moment, before running towards the hitching post. "Legolas! You will not go back! It is too dangerous! Those Orcs are on our trail! If you go back you could be killed!" Geldor shouted after him as the Elf leapt upon Aruminan's back and cut the rope that secured him. "Imandrin could still be alive!" Legolas shouted in reply as he turned the stallion and galloped off the way they had come. The shouts of his friends and captain were ignored as he dug his heels into Aruminan's side to spur the horse on. He was inwardly amazed at how much he found he cared for the young Elf. He was probably only about sixteen hundred years old. Legolas doubted the Orcs had killed him. If he was found at all, he was sure the Mordor Orcs would have taken him prisoner, hostage even. The poor Elf wouldn't know what to do in the hands of such filth.  
**_I will find him! If those Orcs have him, I will find him and bring him back to the battalion! I won't let him die in their hands!_** Legolas thought to himself as Aruminan continued gathering speed. Soon all that could be seen from the new campsite was a white blur streaking across the plains. Huor sighed atop Utulie, before urging the black stallion after Legolas and Aruminan.


End file.
